I'm well underway in my preparations for achieving entrance into a top b-school, hoping to apply next fall.

I have several meetings coming up with graduates of some of target schools. Wharton, Columbia, Stern, Duke, Booth, Cornell, Harvard. Most likely more to come as well. The meetings are majority face-to-face, with a few over the phone. Some of the grads are older (mid-40s and 50s), and some are fresh out of b-school.

My goal of meeting with these people is multi-faceted:
A. Get inside opinions on the programs and aid in my research of school.
B. Get help on where I stand, where I need to be, how to get there, and how to market myself.
C. Possibly develop a mentor/applicant relationship that will help guide me along the way all the way through application process.
D. Network, and maybe, get connected to other individuals of great help. (You never know, they may be best friends with an AdCom!!!)

I have a few questions:
1. Is this a smart idea this early in the game? Being a year out from applications, is it too early?
2. Am i crazy for thinking these alums will take keen to a mentor/applicant relationship?
3. What types of questions should I ask and where should the conversations be focused?


Here are a few questions I plan on asking on my own. Please feel free to add to, remove, or revise any of the following:

1. Overall opinion of program? Dislikes? Likes? Would you recommend?
2. Was business school worth the time away and debt to you?
3. What are your overall thoughts on my current status? Where do I need to focus most? (This will be after I give some background of myself)

Ultimately I'd like to keep the first meeting short, pitch my situation, and hopefully strike a relationship with them checking in regularly for assistance.

Thanks for any and all advice from the beatthegmat community!